This cool, refreshing twist on typical July weather has spoiled me. I'm not ready to return to the sweltering, humid mid 90 degree temperatures rather typical for July in Chicagoland. Naturally, for the 4th of July, it's supposed to be more than 90's degrees. I had been thinking of a BBQ, but with that kind of heat, lighter fare is definitely in order.

In place of the BBQ I was planning, it's time to make great use of seasonal fruits and amazing deals. Here's my 4th of July non-BBQ menu:

Red & Green Grapes
Summer Fruit Salad
Sweet Corn on the Cob
Tortilla chips and Peach Salsa
Potato Chips
Sub rolls/sandwich bread
Cold cuts/deli meat (I've got some goodies in the freezer to pick from and I"ll hit Caputos to round out my choices - they are the cheapest deli with the best selection in town)
Cheeses (Swiss, American, Cheddar, Provolone)
Italian-style chicken salad
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pecan Sandies

The only thing I have to do is bake the cookies (probably tonight, before it gets any hotter outside) and cook the corn the day of - everything is just chopped, stirring and serving! I am so looking forward to kicking back and relaxing with this light and simple feast. What are your plans for the 4th of July? Does the weather affect what you plan to do this year?

I love doing small lunches in the office - there are only 4 of us, 6 if we include the office suite next door - which we usually do. Life at the office has been a little dull, though rather busy lately, so I've organized another lunch at the office.

Rather than doing the tried and true Italian feast, we're going Mexican this time. With tons of fresh produce in season, this is the best time to set up a taco bar. Complete with fresh, fragrant limes, creamy Munster cheese, crisp lettuce, piles of tostadas and tortillas and a lovely peach salsa - this is a quick, cheap, easy, and fun way to have lunch - and everybody can build their own! What's not to love?

Here's how it comes together:

Ground beef ($1.39)
Ground turkey ($.79)
Cheese ($1.00)
Sour Cream ($.44)
Avocados ($.50)
Fresh Limes ($.20)
Salsa (peach salsa) ($.89)
Refried beans ($.29)
Tomatoes ($.67)
Lettuce ($.48)
Onions ($.20)
Corn ($.39)
Cilantro - ($.33)
Tostadas - ($2.35)
Tortillas - ($.50)
Lemonade - ($.25)

A simple, summer time lunch that feeds 6 to 8 people for only $10.57!!
That averages out to $1.33 to $1.77 per person. Much cheaper and healthier than ordering pizza - not to mention, you get exactly what you want on your tacos. Where can you get a deal like that? And, it includes a drink...

I'm hosting a Mother's Day Brunch this year - and I'm getting so excited! I've never hosted a true "brunch" before, so I've evaluated a few of my favorite recipes, grabbed some amazing ideas off the food network (naturally...I love that channel!), and I think I'm ready to tackle this event. It was hard trying to narrow down my choices, but in the end - I think I've paired a few rich and savory favorites with a few sweet and light options.

Most of my hosting experience lies with holiday dinners (rich and traditional favorites), backyard BBQ's (tons of easy options in that category), or smallish dinner parties (just whip out an old favorite or two with some nice bread and salad), so creating the menu has been challenging - I don't want the meal to be too heavy, but I don't want anyone going home unsatisfied.

So, tell me - how does this sound? I've also itemized how much this brunch will cost - and if these seems like a lot of options, I've invited my mother, DH's mother, DH's aunts (3-4 of them), DH's grandmother, and their families. The exact number is around 18-22 people. I won't know until Thursday-Friday how many people to expect.

Chicken & Gnocchi Soup (will post this recipe tomorrow - have to find it first)

Boston Spinach Salad $3.15

Tea Sandwiches $1.67

Munster and Sausage Frittata $2.62 (will make a double batch)

Hashbrowns $1.80 (will make a double batch)

White Chocolate Raspberry Scones $2.12

Banana Nut Bread $1.83

Grapes ($2.00)
Fresh strawberries ($1.50)
Coffee, tea, juice = $8.00

I'm currently at $24.69 for this entire meal (not including soup), but if I don't need to double up on some recipes, I'll make the soup - it's rich, but a little goes a very long way. It would pair nicely with the tea sandwiches and the salad, and the white chocolate raspberry scones - I think those will steal the show! Ever since I learned how to make scones - they've been at the top of my favorites list! Elegant, sweet, and savory - here's hoping this event will be a success!

So tell me, what are you doing for your mother or what do you hope someone is doing for you on Mother's Day?

My good friends over at Colonial Cafe are going it again - $.50 ice cream cones for the month of April! Last year, they ran this special in July and I was there almost daily! The ice cream is simply amazing, if you're a butter pecan fan - Colonial's is the best I've ever had. Such a graet treat for the kids, for the adults, just a little something to brighten everyone's day - after all...who said you have to have dinner before having ice cream?

From décor to dinner, from beverages to basics – I’ve got loads of tips to entertain at home without breaking the bank.

My tips to live by: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.


Reduce: How much you spend. I can’t think of anyone how wouldn’t want to reduce what they spend while throwing a fabulous party. The tricky part is it looking like you spent top dollar when really, all you did was a little planning. If you have the time to plan ahead (roughly 4-8 weeks is best), you’ll be able to pull off a fabulous party for any occasion while staying easily within your budget.

Reuse: What you already have one hand – this how you get amazing décor without reaching into your wallet. Christmas lights – love those mini white lights – they turn a BBQ into a garden party. String those around a gazebo-style tent, along your balcony, deck, patio, etc. and you’ve instantly set the mood. Reuse an oversize platter by adding a similar-hued and shaped bowl in the center for an instant chip and dip tray that looks elegant. Put out cookies in a large mixing bowl for a down-home feel – whatever the mood you’re going for, I’m sure you have half the décor items right in your own cupboards.


Reuse is not just reserved for decorating, though. Reuse an ordinary ingredient to turn a simple dish into an amazing entrée, salad, or side. Here’s how:

Turn a simple pasta into an amazing entrée by only adding color. Here’s how: with a marinara or red sauce, top with parmesan (or if you’re low on that, half parmesan and half fine bread crumbs) with a generous helping of parsley. Top any pasta and sauce with cheese, bake for 5-10 minutes (long enough for the cheese to melt) and serve. Works best on shorter noodles, but trust me, this instantly dresses up pasta. If you’re doing an Alfredo sauce, add a pinch of color. My favorites: finely diced red bell pepper, chopped, dry-packed sun-dried tomato, or even some shredded spinach toss into the mix.

For a salad, add interest with dried fruit or sun-dried tomatoes. To punch up flavor, add a pinch or two of a complimentary dried herb.

For meat, serve with sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, julienned bell pepper, or a simple sauce.

Top ordinary (even boxed mashed potatoes!) with parsley, fancy garlic salt, or a sprinkling of cheese. Pop in the oven to turn the top a lovely golden brown and serve. Remember, to be fancy, it only needs to look fancy.

For a baked good, this is even easier. Alongside a store-bought coffee cake, place a handful or two of plump berries, either at the base of the coffee cake (or any cake, really), or sprinkle a few on top. If they’re on the menu anyway, why not use them as part of the display?


Recycle: Old recipes with a twist. A cake stand becomes a stand for your fancy salad bowl on a buffet line. Anything can be made over, all you have to do is look at it from a different perspective. Not so easy? Ask for someone else’s opinion – especially kids. They naturally see things differently than we do.

How to recycle an old recipe: Swap out one key ingredients for something that serves the same purpose. Oatmeal raisin cookies become oatmeal craisin cookies, swap out one extract, spice, marinade, etc. etc. for another. My mom made If’N cookies growing up – if and she had the right stuff, they would’ve been something else! This idea even works for the main course: like a pork recipe, but all you’ve got is chicken? Boy, does that happen to me – I just swap out one cut of meat for the other. I do match bone in with bone in, boneless with boneless, but sometimes you invent a new family favorite that way.


Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is a frugal girl’s best friend – especially when she’s in the kitchen. Nothing says a great party like a fabulous spread, and with these tips – you are more than sure to have one!

I love hosting a party, and lucky for me - I have tons of reasons to host them! From Christmas cookie exchanges to work office luncheons, to backyard BBQ's and holidays feasts, I've tackled a little bit of everything. Here is one of my tried and true rules: Master the Marinade.

A marinade if a basic available in any budget range, for any cut of meat, fish, seafood, or hardy veggie. With lots of time or little time, here's how to select and make the perfect marinade for you.

1. Consider the amount of time you have to marinade your meat. If you have 12-24 hours, consider a mild marinade. Some of my favorites include ginger, garlic, or onion based marinade or even Italian salad dressing - it's a absolute dream as a marinade - love a condiment that pulls double-duty!

If you have 6-10 hours, consider a marinade with a light amount of citrus - this will help tenderize a tougher or less flavorful cut of meat in shorter amount of time. For fish and seafood, stick to milder marinades or shorter amount of time to marinade - let a cut of meat marinade too long and the meat dissolves too much in the marinade.

If you have 2-6 hours, use a marinade with a lot of soy sauce or citrus. This will quickly tenderize a cut of meat and leave a flavorful punch. Some of the basics include teriyaki (pineapple-soy sauce blend), lemon pepper, or Caribbean Jerk.

With a half dozen pantry staples and some spices, you have everything you need to whip up some of the common marinades right in your own kitchen.

Asian Ginger Sesame Marinade

1/2 C. soy sauce
2 T. olive oil or peanut oil
2 tsp. sesame seeds
3 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder or salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. molasses

In a small canning jar, add all ingredients and shake to combine thoroughly.
Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 5 days before using.
Yields - 1 batch of marinade (enough for 3-4 lbs. of meat)
Goes great on beef stew meat, pork or beef ribs, bone-in chicken breast
Italian Garlic Marinade (6-10 hours - longer for less tender cuts of meat)

1/4 C. vinegar (distilled, white wine, or balsamic)
2 T. lemon juice
3 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. oregano
1 T. dry minced onion
1 T. basil
1/4 tsp. fennel seed (optional)
1 tsp. corn starch
1 T. sugar

In a small canning jar, add all ingredients and shake to combine thoroughly.
Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 5 days before using.
Yields - 1 batch of marinade (enough for 3-4 lbs. of meat)
Great for: chicken, tougher cuts of beef, and

Lemon Pepper Marinade (2-6 hour marinade)

1/3 C. lemon juice
1-2 T. brown sugar
2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 T. olive oil
1/4 tsp. paprika

In a small canning jar, add all ingredients and shake to combine thoroughly.
Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 5 days before using.
Yields - 1 batch of marinade (enough for 3-4 lbs. of meat)
Goes well on pork chops, chicken breast, and pork steaks

Smoky Orange Marinade (2-6 hour marinade)

1/4 C. orange juice
3 T. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. dry minced onion
1 T. olive oil
1/4 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. hickory smoked salt (optional)

In a small canning jar, add all ingredients and shake to combine thoroughly.
Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 5 days before using.
Yields - 1 batch of marinade (enough for 3-4 lbs. of meat)
I love to use this on chicken drummies - packs a flavorful punch with a smoky hint at the end.

If you are a couponer, start looking for marinades to be on sale starting next month - and combine with coupons from your Sunday newspaper - you can get some of the Lawry's bottled marinades, or Weber/McCormick marinade packets on sale for next to nothing. I'm still using the marinades I grabbed last year (check your expiration dates if purchasing in large quantities) for mere pennies.

Check out my beautiful handcrafted necklace giveaway!

This week, I'm joining the Ultimate Blog Party! For my new readers, it's great to have you here, my name is Annie and I love to entertain on a budget. From a backyard BBQ to a delicious dinner party - I've got recipes, tips, and ideas to make entertaining a snap for any budget. Here are a few of my favorite posts and recipes for parties:


BBQ on a Budget

Game Day Favorites

Easy, Basic Biscotti

Brunch on a Budget

Easy Frittata Recipe

Master of the Marinade

Frugal Party Tips

Each day, I'll post about great party tips, budget-friendly party menus, easy and adaptable recipes, and all the ways to squeeze a little more party bang out of your dollar. With summer and graduation season right around the corner, I can hardly wait to get started!

Check out all the great giveaways listed over at 5 Minutes for Mom and let's get this party started! Go check out this great post by 4 Hats and Frugal - she is such an amazing inspiration!

http://4hatsandfrugal.blogspot.com/2010/04/welcome-to-2010-blog-party.html

DH is finishing up his school program in May and I'm planning a party for him. His field of study is the paralegal program offered at a local college, and in 2 years, he has nearly completed the program. His final classes end in the middle of May. Since he has opted out of the graduation ceremony, I've decided he'll at least get a small backyard, BBQ type of party to commemorate finishing this stage of schooling.

Using the reasoning that a small townhouse isn't big enough to host a party, I've enlisted my mother-in-law to help with this shindig and we'll hold the get-together at her house. After all, he's definitely mama's favorite! Here's what I'm thinking for a full-flavor, frugalicious fun for $25...


MENU - to feed 20-25 people Cost: $25 or less

Chicken and hotdogs/sausage on the grill ($8 - that's all I'll spend out of pocket on meat - I think I can manage that and I've got tons of free marinades to use)
Baked Pasta (1 large pan or 2 smaller pans - got everything, so FREE)
Garden salad ($3 - I'll grab whatever is on sale the week of)
Beans & Rice ($2-$3 I've got everything to make the rice, so I just need a large bag of pinto beans)
Baked Bean Casserole (got everything so FREE)
Tortillas & Buns ($5 - 6-8 dozen tortillas and 3-5 pkgs. buns)
Condiments (got 'em - I've got loads of stuff for this! FREE)
Chips, dip, crackers ($5 - good tortilla chips, dip, guacamole)
Cake (DaMama has offered to bake 2 cakes - yippee)
Cookies & bars (got all the ingredients for them, so FREE)

My mother-in-law has offered to supply the beverages, which I'm so glad, that tends to be the most expensive part of the get together, but I'll bring Southern-style sweet tea and a couple canisters of lemonade mix, to help round out the water and soda.

I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for deals like $.50 hotdogs, $.49 chicken leg quarters, and any deal on sausage I can get. I'll probably roll some cats that are about to expire into bags of dried pinto beans, to help bring down the cost a little more, too. I'll scan for deals on sour cream (for dip) when we get down to the last 3-4 weeks before the party. By zeroing in on a menu now, I have time to get everything for the price I want. It's easy to entertain on a budget, but it requires strategy and planning. Always know what you want before you shop! If I have any $$ leftover, I'll grab potatoes for potato salad or a package of ribs. Let's see how the dollars go.

Any frugal ideas on rounding out the party? My budget is $25 for all the food and drink that I'm bringing. I think I can do this - fun, frugal, and fabulous!!

I;ve been puzzling over the menu for two weeks, writing and rewriting what will be served, but I think - after too much consideration, I've finally got it all nailed down. Whenever I mention the party to someone, they remind me of a favorite dish that has to be on the menu. If you ask my friend, Bridgett - it would be the biscotti, my mom insists no party is complete without the eggnog crunch cookies, my mother-in-law, she tells me to make a double batch of the dark chocolate cranberry bars. With so many favorites and so my ideas to choose from, it's made it hard to narrow it down to the favorites of the season.

Before it changes again, here's what the menu looks like:

EggNog Crunch Cookies
Almond Cookies
Lemon Cookies
Citrus Macadamian Nut Cookies
Fudge
Penuche
Lemon Snowbars
Decadent Chocolate Snowballs
Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies
French Cappuccino Bars
Chocolate and Almond Dipped pretzels (twists and rods)
Mini-Kiss Cookies
Thumbprint Cookies
Ginger Almond Biscotti
Southern-style brownies

For appetizers:

BLT dip
roasted garlic and pepper dip
French onion dip
sweet and savory meatballs
cheese cubes and smoked sausage slices served with pretzel sticks
wheat thins, pretzels, chips
baby carrots and cucumber slices

I love entertaining, and now that hubby and I have hounded a new living room set (only $700 - beautiful micro-suede couch and loveseat), it's time to gear up for my annual Christmas Cookie Party. I'm planning a menu of seasonal favorites and an array of appetizers, sure to please any palate! With all the hounded cake mixes, flour, and cheap extract that I've been able to load up on - this is the ideal way to entertain on a budget! Can you believe that 7 of the cookies and bars start with a cake mix? How easy is that?!

Cookie and Bars selections:

Egg Nog Crunch cookies with walnuts
French Cappuccino Bars
Lemon Snow Bars
Diane's Almond Cookies
Southern-style brownies - new recipe!
Tuxedo Cookies
Ginger Pear Bars
Oatmeal Cookies (with craisins and walnuts & with golden raisins and almonds)
Classic Chocolate-Almond Biscotti
Shortbread Cubes - new recipe!
Cranberry Dark Chocolate Bars
Sugar Cookies
Buttery Lemon Cookies
Strawberry-Almond Thumbprint Cookies - new recipe!

Other sweet nibbles:

Chocolate dipped pretzels (with sprinkles, crushed peppermint, or toffee bits)
Almond dipped pretzels (plain, sprinkles, or shredded coconut topped)
Divinity - this is a new addition....let's see how it turns out!
EggNog Truffles - still working on creating this recipe

Appetizers:

Mini-frittatas
Blanco Pizza bites
Meatballs
Roasted garlic chicken spread with crackers
Veggie Dip (thank you Lipton!) with baby carrots and celery
BLT dip with toast triangles (gotta love this simple, affordable alternative)